Patience is a virtue…

Privilege is not without its pitfalls, as Scottish Labour Euro MP Hugh McMahon discovered as he breezed through a busy Zaventem airport the other day.

European Voice

2/14/96, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/12/14, 1:00 AM CET

The place was crowded and Hugh, a man in a hurry, decided it was time for a bit of legitimate queue-jumping. Faced with a long line of passport-toting punters, he reached for his ‘fastcard’ and strode to the front, confident of the kind of prompt service the document issued to MEPs by the Belgian authorities is supposed to offer EU politicians with no time to waste.

Unfortunately, the system only works if your ‘fastcard’ (which is equivalent to an airline staff pass) is up-to-date. By the time Hugh realised his had lapsed, it was too late. He was bundled away to a police detention centre with a bunch of other allegedly dubious characters while his credentials were checked.

Ironic really – a bit of patience and a brief wave of his British passport and Hugh would have had no trouble getting through immigration.